Manly Vale Hotel

The Manly Vale Hotel is one of those venues that everyone has played at and everyone has been to… except me! That’s right, I’ve never seen a band at The Manly Vale. That makes me fairly unique amongst Sydney music lovers of my age.

Just have a look at the list of classic Australian acts that have graced its stage. From AC/DC back in the mid 1970’s to Dee Minor and The Dischords, INXS, Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil in the 80’s. The list looks more impressive when you add the countless international acts that played there. I really don’t know how I managed to miss it.

Well, it’s over to you guys. What’s your memories of The Manly Vale Hotel? Leave a comment below and let us know who you saw there.

I witnesses two other performers get zapped on stage at the Manly Vale; must have been some dodgy wiring. I think that was more the mid 1970s. Then there was Billy Thorpe blasting crap out of the circuits on numerous occasions. When it all went dead, over all the cheering and whooping, you could hear Thorpie swearing his head off over a dead mic.

My only documented (so far) gig at The Manly Vale Hotel was as support for The Reels. Now there was an interesting band. They were doing their own thing quite successfully led by the irrepressible Dave Mason.

My greatest memory of the Manly Vale was turning up to a Cold Chisel concert with a rather glam girl but I was wearing her tight leather pants and remember the fist VB of the night hit me in the head along with many others. survived OK.

My fondest memories of Manly Vale Hotel, was serving behind the bar, all beers were $1.20 and spirits $1.50. You had to be able to lip read, as there was no way of hearing any of the orders for the bands. Then afterwards serving drinks to the band members in the staff area, lots of very late nights were involved. Lucky I just lived behind the hotel in a unit.

hi Benita! I’m a student at Macquarie university and really want to write an article on the manly vale hotel and would love to talk to someone who worked there that could tell me a few stories and a bit about it?? if you want, just send me an email telling me whether you would want to talk or not 🙂

Alex, I have a fair number of yarns from the brilliant nights at the Manly Vale, but only from a punter’s point of view. Some stories have already been published in national magazines, plus I have some photos somewhere of performers and crowd scenes.

I did heaps of gigs there but the one that I always remember was one that didnt happen. I was doing a walk in foldback for Snake as they got the support for the NSW leg of Motorheads Australian tour. If I`m right they had the record for being the loudest band in history at the time and wanted to prove it by lugging one enormous PA, so big in fact that the side fill alone took up half the stage and being in a corner at the time didnt leave much room for the band.Well the FOH guy was walking around with a measuring tape trying to figure out how to set it up but it was clear from the begining it wasnt going to fit in any configuration, so we got to go home early to the discust of the punters who were lining up outside looking on in fright as the truck was repacked and driven away. One note was the way the FOH guy mixed the band, it involved turning every knob on the desk clockwise and pushing the faders as far up as they would travel then inserting earplugs. They were so loud that at the time in Panthers the band rooms had double sound proof doors, and we still couldnt hear ourselves, even screaming.

The gig I remember was the oils when the power went out mid set for about half an hour, man was it hot! Had a great swim at north steyne after the gig with many others. Called in at neutral bay for petrol on the way home and the guy there saw that we were wet and asked if we had been at bryants. Word traveled fast before Facebook

I saw New Order at the Manly Vale Hotel Dec 11 1982. Pel Mel were the support and the crowd were crushed at the front expecting the headliners to rock it up. When New Order came on, all spaces and electronic shoe gazing, not a word to the audience, everyone left for the bar. We were rapt and danced around like mad. Blue Monday, in particular, was amazing! I saw lots of pub rock there in the late 70s and early 80s particularly Cold Chisel and that’s the only time I can remember dancing around at the front!

I saw a couple of elecrocutions there; once the singer/guitarist went zap, dropped like turd and everyone thought it was part of the act until he was stretchered out. When Thorpie blew the sound system out after just a few notes, all you could hear was him swearing his head off. I think it happened a few more times, and didn’t he punish the equipment after that debacle. It was still a good show, but.

Killer night! As the support band for The DK’s at Manly Vale, and The Antler we got to meet Jello and the guys which was both exciting (as they were our favourite band), and surprising. Jello being nothing like his stage persona at all. Almost shy, though perhaps he was just in his own warm up head space. We were also the first Australian act they saw play live at a tiny little venue in Pitt St – The Lismore Hotel (also a venue with an interesting story based around it being the police’s daytime drinking base, and a punk venue at night!).
Great time, lotsa great bands and venues, sadly no longer a part of what Sydney has to offer.

Can’t remember the gigs when I worked for Jands at the Manly Vale, however, do remember the place was always way overcrowded.
The BOH was only accessible via the main room – no chance of getting out in an emergency. Added to the tension and atmosphere I suppose.

Jeff St John was one I fondly remember from the 70s at Manly Vale. Not only could he sing rock n roll, but he performed it in a wheelchair on two wheels only. Inspirational, especially when you’ve had a few beers.
News today of his passing, is another sad milestone.

Lucky enough to see many bands at Manly Vale, including The Teardrop Explodes, Jimmy And The Boys, The Sunnyboys supported by The Kelpies (massive surfy v punk brawl ala Brighton ’64), after in the car park, Iggy Pop, Died Pretty, and on and on and on!
Favourite? Got to support The Dead Kennedy’s in ’83.

I used to BEG my big brother Paul to take me t Midnight Oil but he never did ☹️ But we did see the ACOUSTIC version at the Enmore in 1997 – Peter Garrett playing an accoustic guitar on a stool,& singing without backup… AMAZING 👏🙌👌🥰